"Pez de Abril" Tops Leaderboard While the Heat Creates Havoc with the Wind at 36 Copa del Rey MAPFRE

Day 3 dawned with the prediction for yet another scorching day and a lot of scratching of heads wondering what this would do to the winds after yesterday. Things looked positive and Race 3 was started, but the course was shortened and the boats were finished at the second windward mark. RED ELECTRICA ESPANA helmed by Alberto Viejo Puga (ESP) won this race with Lorenzo Mondo's (ITA) FAR STAR 2nd, and Jose Maria Meseguer's PEZ DE ABRIL 3rd.

"Race 3 was a good race and we had smart tactics called by Branko Brain", said Mondo of FAR STAR. He went on to say, "In Race 4 we made a mistake on the first leg," finishing 6th.

There as a long postponement before Race 5 was underway and just after the start there was an AP posted while the startng line was reset along with the windward mark. The winds played havoc again and utimately there was a course change to the finish line.

PEZ DE ABRIL would win Race 4 with RED ELECTRCA ESPANA placing 2nd. Andrea Rossi's (ITA) MELA was 3rd. Enrico Zannaro, tactician, said, "The winds were light and shifting many times. We had two good starts and are playing well with the mast tuning to improve our boat speed." He added, "We hope to learn more in these next days to perform well. This is my first time on MELA; I have been on other Swan 42s, but I hope to be here for The Nations Trophy in October," he noted. MELA was 5th in Race 3.